Black Friday gives people an opportunity to get their Christmas gifts at bargain prices, but should people shop at small locally-owned businesses or go to a big box store?
Shopping locally has a wide range of benefits for both the consumer and the business owner, according to experts.
“Small businesses provide tremendous economic value to our community they are worth supporting. They create and sustain local jobs,” Kathleen Cook with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business told 680 CJOB.
Around 10 million Canadians work for small or medium-sized businesses, according to Cook.
Additionally, she said, buying local can have a long-lasting impact beyond just one purchase as 75 per cent of local businesses use products and services from within their community.
“When you go support a local business it’s actually quite likely that you’re supporting many other businesses in your community at the same time, there’s a domino effect.”
Cook says some businesses aren’t feeling very optimistic for the holiday season knowing inflation has forced people to curb their spending.
However, for big box stores that doesn’t seem to be a concern as tenants have reported very high sales numbers, according to Aundra Ford, manager of specialty leasing and partnerships at St. Vital Mall.
“Our traffic volumes have picked back up so we are actually over what we were seeing in 2019 which is really fantastic news,” she says.
Big box store owners are hoping the Black Friday weekend will be another step toward a continued comeback for retail.
“We all know that there have been some serious economic challenges with inflation and inventory,” Ford says.
Ford says stores seem to be headed in the right direction and have actually been having challenges keeping an inventory as they’ve been exceeding their 2019 performance levels.
She said malls are expected to add several new tenants in the new year.
Another reason people may consider going to the mall is so their kids can meet Santa.
And for those who want to pay Santa a visit but would like to avoid the noise and crowds, there is an option called ‘sensory Santa’ available on Dec. 4.
“If your children need a little bit more time, there will be just less lighting in the mall, no music,” Ford says.
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